Can technology overcome social disadvantage of school children's learning outcomes? evidence from a Large-scale experiment in India
Description
Poor learning outcomes in developing countries are largely attributed to the low quality of teaching inputs in schools, primarily due to a shortage of adequately trained teachers and widespread teacher absenteeism. Children from socially disadvantaged groups are the most affected, as this lack of resources adds to the already existing discrimination in classrooms. Computer technology can be used to address these deficiencies and provide high-quality educational content. We conduct a large-scale randomized field experiment across 1,823 rural government schools in Karnataka, India, where satellite–terrestrial technology is used to broadcast additional interactive classes. The results show that this intervention has a positive impact on student performance. We find that this technology is non-discriminatory and helps reduce the educational attainment gap between socially disadvantaged students and others. In particular, girls from these groups benefit the most from this intervention.
Copyright Date
January 2016
Publication Date
1-1-2016
Keywords
Information and Communication Technology, ICT, Education, Field experiment, Government policy
Conference
Asian Meeting of Econometric Society, 11-13 August, 2016, Kyoto
